Based in both London and Paris, Louis Loveless applies a comic book-style sensibility to his tattoos. Working almost entirely in black, stylized subjects, his dramatic pieces contemplate the horrors of life, the calmness death, and the false prophecies that we cling to. To convey many of these sentiments, Loveless uses glitches to fracture his subjects. This […]
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10 Movies Revealing the Cultural Significance of BDSM
With the success of “Fifty Shades of Grey” on the printed page and the big screen, BDSM (Bondage, Domination, Sadism, Masochism) has burst forth from the shadows of popular consciousness. . . . Or so it seems. In fact, dating as far back as 1967, filmmakers have had a fascination with this particular brand of […]
10 Movies You Should Watch in 2017
As in life, every year represents a clean slate, a new starting point for movies to excite or disappoint. That’s how things roll. 2017 has already proven the point. On the one hand, we’ve had Martin Scorsese’s majestic “Silence.” On the other, Justin Kurzel’s rubbish “Assassin’s Creed.” As we look forward into the remaining 10 […]
10 Tattooers from Eastern Europe to Keep Your Eye On
With the soaring popularity of tattoos coupled with increased globalism, the world gets seemingly smaller and smaller—tattooists from across the world are easily inspired by cultures in foreign lands. Likewise, these artists also travel to tattoo shops in different countries and bring their unique style there. Illusion magazine has been an admirer of the work that comes […]
The Nature of Fear: Paintings by Nicola Samori
Nicola Samori is an Italian artist whose dark, dreary paintings explore the nature of fear. Working in a style influenced by Baroque portraiture—for example, the rich colors and heavy shadows—Samori intensifies the emotion and drama by mutilating his subjects. Faces are painted over or ripped apart, exposing an abstraction of bloody insides; torsos hover omniously […]
Terrible, Beautiful Life: 10 Movies That Will Provoke Existential Angst
Perhaps you’re not the type of movie-watcher who likes to sit in front of the TV with snacks and a loved one, ready to laugh and feel good about life. Perhaps you’re the type who wants to be filled with existential dread, hugging yourself as you weep softly over how terrifying it is to be […]
20 Best Movies of 2016
There has been much online chatter in recent months, that 2016 hasn’t been so good for the movies. Blockbuster season was categorically an abject parade of expensive crap, with “Suicide Squad” being a far worse picture than the berated “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” but one over-hyped season is not representative of the whole […]
Lost Innocence, Enduring Resistance: An Interview with Gottfried Helnwein
In a world fractured by the war machines of capitalism and exploitation, it is all-too-easy to feel distant from the stories of violence that pervade our media and political histories. However, as the renowned artist Gottfried Helnwein has shown in his courageous and provocative work, it is extremely difficult to ignore the suffering of a […]
Dark Paranormal Femininity: Photography by Nynewe
Nynewe (Michaela Knizova) is a photographer based in Luxembourg who creates ghostly self-portraits capturing what she identifies as “dark paranormal femininity.” In a multi-part series titled “Agast Atera En,” Nynewe documented her travels around Europe using creative portraiture. Posing her body in dark rural landscapes, she acts out original hybrid mythologies, drawing on archetypes and […]
The 10 Best Films of 2016 … So Far
It’s time for my roundup of 2016’s best films so far… Writing this list was pretty tough. If I include films seen at Cannes and Berlin, it’s been a very strong year for cinema and there’s still another six months to go before I make the definitive “Best of” countdown, in December. Think of this, […]